> Lasting just 38 minutes, the shortest war in recorded history occurred in whichlocation?And the answer: Zanzibar. Photo credit: BeautifulWorld.comOccurring in 1896, the Anglo-Zanzibar War was abrief conflict between the British Empire and the East African island ofZanzibar. When the ruling sultan died, a prince took his place in the palace,ignoring the British demand for a different successor. The Royal Navy reacted byopening fire on the palace, and the prince escaped, ending the war.For 160 years, Zanzibar was ruled by the Omani Sultan from thousands of milesaway. For the 200 years preceding that, it was Portugal that ruled Zanzibar fromafar. Finally, in 1856, Zanzibar was able to gain a level of independence fromthese forces to form their own Sultanate. Unfortunately, though, this movecaught the attention of Britain.At first, Britain acted with seeming benevolence. After Britain recognized theisland's sovereignty, the Sultanate of Zanzibar granted the rights of its Kenyanterritory to the British and the rights to Tanzania to Germany. However, bothEuropean forces had their eyes set on the island of Zanzibar itself. Britainwasted no time, and declared the island of Zanzibar a British Protectorate.Under the Protectorate, the British-installed Sultanate banned slave trade. Thisinfuriated much of the community, and a coup attempt installed a new Sultan whowas in favor of its reinstatement. Threatened, the British gave the new Sultan atwo-day ultimatum to stand down and surrender. He refused. On August 27, 1896, the British ultimatum expired, and the shortest war inhistory began. Anticipating the Sultan's refusal, the British had assembled afleet of three cruisers and two gunboats in the harbor directly adjacent to thepalace, inside which the Sultan had barricaded himself. A total of 1,050 menassembled on behalf of the British, while around 3,000 stood for the Sultan.Within minutes of open fire, the palace caught fire and much of the Sultan'sdefense had been lost. Within 38 minutes, the war was over. While only a singleinjury was registered for the British side, more than 500 Zanzibarians losttheir lives.Learn more about the world's shortest war here[https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/resource/7950/the-shortest-war-in-history-the-anglo-zanzibar-wa]. Photo credit: Audley Travel.